Tully: When it snowed, did Indy government fall?

Jan. 3, 2014

An emergency vehicle navigates through snowy roads Thursday as it drives west from North Meridian Street. / Charlie Nye

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The snow fell fast Thursday morning and the perennial criticism of the city’s snow-fighting response poured down just as quickly.

The criticism has always come, usually deservedly, but it comes even faster and louder in these social media-fueled days. Many people shared their complaints and outrage before even finishing their commutes, filling Facebook and Twitter with photos of gridlocked streets and virgin snow untouched by a city plow.

It all made for good entertainment. Suburbanites railed about commutes to Downtown that lasted so long they warranted a bathroom break. City residents wondered why their side streets were ignored. And Democratic City-County Councilman Zach Adamson and Marion County Republican Chairman Kyle Walker got into a Twitter version of a snowball fight.

As might be expected, Adamson aimed words of criticism at Republican Mayor Greg Ballard’s administration, calling the roads “a disaster” and saying the city “dropped the ball.” Walker, meanwhile, argued that the mayor’s team had done a wonderful job and suggested to the councilman that he “zip it.” (Yes, these are such partisan times that Democrats and Republicans even see snow differently.)

The debate was cute, a nice distraction, but the real issue is a broader one and it goes back to the adage that “you get what you pay for.” If you bought that new TV at the Dollar Hut, you probably shouldn’t complain too much when it burns out. And here in Indianapolis, in so many cases, we’ve sought out a bargain.

So did the city do a good job of clearing the streets Thursday? Well, I think we can all agree that the roads were a mess at rush hour. And while that was due in part to the snow falling heavily throughout the morning commute it should be noted that intersections all across the city were still covered in deep slushy snow even hours after the snowfall stopped. The city was clearly clearing the streets with one eye on the budget; it sometimes seems that Indy snow crews are as careful about using salt as a guy with high blood pressure.

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Bottom line: By Indianapolis standards, the response was about average. It wasn’t the worst I’ve seen and I’d be hard-pressed to label anything I’ve seen here as the best. That’s not a slam on the hardworking men and women charged with plowing the streets; it’s simply a nod to reality. And the reality is this: We get only a few heavy snowfalls a year, at most, and as a city we have decided not to make the investments necessary to fully and effectively attack heavy snow falls.

For goodness sakes, the city actually has a rule that residential side streets are cleared only if we receive six or more inches of snow. First, that’s a ridiculously high bar. Second, based on the way city officials talk you’d think they were doing us a favor by plowing our side streets.

Argh!

(Sorry about my frustration, but I’m from Northwest Indiana — the snow capital of Indiana — and even after all these years I still can’t get over the way we treat snow here. Politicians in the north would be run out of office if the streets looked like they do here after a heavy snow. But I digress.)

Here’s my point: We get what we pay for. And when it comes to snow plows and the size of our police force and the quality of our parks, this city has gone for the bargain time and again. Our politicians have been trained to fear raising taxes (unless it is for sports stadiums). And even smart proposals — like Ballard’s recent push to eliminate a tiny, outdated tax break to improve the public safety budget — run into silly partisan opposition.

In the end, if we want clearer streets on mornings like Thursday, we need to spend a little more on the front end. We need to accept that high-quality roads cost money.

If suburbanites want easier drives into town, they might consider not screaming the next time someone suggests that Indianapolis keep a tiny fraction of the income tax generated by their job in Indianapolis.

If we want a safer city, we need to find the money to have a fully staffed police department so that officers, now stretched so thin, can do more proactive crime-prevention work. If we want better parks, we need to be willing to fund them, not just privatize them.

There’s an argument to be made that thrift has served Indianapolis well. But thrift sometimes comes with a cost. That’s something to remember the next time you’re stuck in traffic, praying for a snowplow. Which, given Sunday’s forecast, could be very soon.